Homestead bourbon

[dementedavenger]

I was in a locally-owned wine/liquor store in Seattle today and came across something called Homestead Barrel Proof Bourbon (see picture). The bottle states that it's "Distilled in Bardstown, Kentucky" and "Bottled in Indiana". The company's Facebook page says they're from Iowa and that it's 20% rye. It was something like $56+ tax; too much to pay for something I've never heard of in a horribly packaged bottle (sorry if you think it's cool; I think it's one of the cheesier bottles I've seen lately).

Should I assume they're getting their juice from the KBD? Anyone try this yet?

[Restaurant man]

Notice the absence of the word "straight" and NAS. No thanks, I'll pass.

[squire]

My first instinct is to laugh and groan simultaneously. The phrase putting lipstick on a pig comes to mind.

[sku]

It's bottled by Strong Spirits. They may have sourced from KBD.

[cowdery]

I've exchanged some notes with Reggie Amos, the guy behind this. He told me right off that it's LDI bourbon. He wrote: "The bourbon has been distilled by LDI ( we believe one of the best distilleries in the US). We are not going to hide the fact that LDI makes our bourbon as we are proud of that fact and do want to mislead our consumers in any way. We have labeled the bourbon barrel proof as it will be bottled at 113.3 proof and although we have not included an age statement the bourbon is in fact 4 years old. The mash bill contains 20% rye and we believe this is very good profile for the bourbon as it has a very clean, crisp flavor."

I asked him why they eschewed the word 'straight.' His reply: "We thought long and hard about using the term Straight and decided that the term technically only means the bourbon is over 2 years old. Because we wanted our brand to be modern (a bit minimal) we also were very specific in the message on the bottle and since we want to promote the fact that our bourbon is higher proof (as close as we can get to going from the barrel to the bottle) we decided to put the idea of barrel proof on the bottle."

I have not tasted it but am somewhat curious to, since I'm not sure I've yet tasted a 4-year-old bourbon from MGPI Indiana that doesn't have some kind of finish.

Of course, I usually get to try these things without paying for them. If the suggested retail on this is $50, I just can't see that. I'm reminded of Heaven Hill's recent Red State/Blue State. It was a gimmick for the election, the labels were very cheap, and they sold it for $12 a bottle. The whiskey was maybe not quite even Evan Williams black label quality, but it was perfectly drinkable and I drank quite a bit of it. When you can get bourbon for $12 that's as good or better than bourbon that's selling for $50 a bottle, there's no reason to buy the $50 bottle unless you simply don't know any better.

Here at SB.com, we know better.

Edited December 11, 2012 by cowdery

[squire]

I'll bet he's able to say that with a good deal of sincerity in person.

[dementedavenger]

I've exchanged some notes with Reggie Amos, the guy behind this. He told me right off that it's LDI bourbon. He wrote: "The bourbon has been distilled by LDI ( we believe one of the best distilleries in the US). We are not going to hide the fact that LDI makes our bourbon as we are proud of that fact and do want to mislead our consumers in any way. We have labeled the bourbon barrel proof as it will be bottled at 113.3 proof and although we have not included an age statement the bourbon is in fact 4 years old. The mash bill contains 20% rye and we believe this is very good profile for the bourbon as it has a very clean, crisp flavor."

I asked him why they eschewed the word 'straight.' His reply: "We thought long and hard about using the term Straight and decided that the term technically only means the bourbon is over 2 years old. Because we wanted our brand to be modern (a bit minimal) we also were very specific in the message on the bottle and since we want to promote the fact that our bourbon is higher proof (as close as we can get to going from the barrel to the bottle) we decided to put the idea of barrel proof on the bottle."

I have not tasted it but am somewhat curious to, since I'm not sure I've yet tasted a 4-year-old bourbon from MGPI Indiana that doesn't have some kind of finish.

Of course, I usually get to try these things without paying for them. If the suggested retail on this is $50, I just can't see that. I'm reminded of Heaven Hill's recent Red State/Blue State. It was a gimmick for the election, the labels were very cheap, and they sold it for $12 a bottle. The whiskey was maybe not quite even Evan Williams black label quality, but it was perfectly drinkable and I drank quite a bit of it. When you can get bourbon for $12 that's as good or better than bourbon that's selling for $50 a bottle, there's no reason to buy the $50 bottle unless you simply don't know any better.

Here at SB.com, we know better.

Thanks for the info. I'm just going to rename this stuff "The Douchey Bourbon". I'm sure the proprietors mean well, but it sounds like they're targeting "aspirational" liquor buyers and their product is woefully overpriced.

[sku]

Price is definitely high, but I appreciate them bottling at cask strength. With all the LDI whiskey out there, almost none of it, save maybe the Willett's ryes, is cask strength.

[squire]

Aspirational liquor buyers, I like that.

[squire]

sku, I agree cask strength is a plus. It also occurs to me I could buy four bottles of Barton six year old for the price of one four year old Homestead. True, the Barton is 86 proof but with three extra bottles I can pour an another shot.